Wolves of New Moon
by Silver Wind Wolf
Summary: Kino travels alone in hopes of finding Paradise. She finds more wolves on the way. What will she learn of her new conrads pasts? It doesn't matter, because she only thinks of one thing...making it to Paradise.
1. New Moon and New Beasts

Chapter One

New Moons and New Beasts

A whimpering noise could be heard on the side of the road. At a street corner a girl sat huddled under a small shawl, her breath apparent in the cold winter night. As she looked up she saw a young girl looking down at her. The girl held a pair of ruby red eyes and velvet looking hair, almost like the night but without the stars twinkling. For a moment she blinked, unsure of what this girl wanted with her.

"Who are you?" She asked the girl standing above her.

"My name is Kai, and you're coming with me. We're alike in more than one way. I'm searching for someone, my sister. Maybe you know her, her name is Blue." The mysterious young girl looked down at her. Her eyes serious and unblinking.

The other girl shook her head. "I haven't heard of one by such a name," she stood, brushing herself off, "but as long as we're doing introductions...my name is Kinonai, you can call me Kino though." She reached her hand out, meaning a friendly hand shake. The other kept her hands in her pockets with a curious look on her face.

"Look, the only reason I'm picking your happy ass up is because you're the only one around here like me...besides you look like maybe you might have some food on you." She scratched the side of her face and flushed red in a little embarrassment. Her ruby red eyes turning to the ground, unable to look her new companion in the face.

"I see, you don't often ask for assistance, do you?" The other smile in self confidence. Kino shoved her pail hand into her pocket, pulling out a piece of meat. "It's not much, but you can have it. I was going to save it for later...but I've had my fill, so go on." She tossed the meat to Kai and gave a grin. "So, where are we going?"

Kai ate the meat ravenously then licked her fingers when she was done. Her eyes turned upward to the other girl and with a grin she replied. "Where ever I hear my sis is." The ruby red eyes twinkled lightly in the midnight lights of the barren city. No one was awake...it almost seemed as if they'd all planned to be dead on this very night.

The eight pairs of legs scampered across the pavement as they ran, men following close behind them, guns in hand. One wolf was a white color, the other a lovely ash grey. The albino wolf wore a spiked color and the other was free of any flaws or assets, for the exception of a painful looking scar running down the spine of her back. Both wolves carried the exact same body type: thin, boney, and sleek. They were like dolphins in the sea of the night, only seen by the shimmer of the light on their fur.

"You just had to pick a fight!" The grey wolf that held Kino's voice yelled to the white wolf.

"He started it! If they go after anyone it should've been him. It's his own damn fault for calling me a dirty skank!" They rounded the corner and quickly transformed into their human forms. The two sat by the walls, holding their breaths. The soldiers ran into the alleyway and stared at the girls.

"Look, didja happen ta see two wol– I mean rather large dogs go by here?" One of the soldiers asked the girls.

The two exchanged curious looks then Kino turned, almost sensing Kai's inability to lie. "No sir! We haven't seen one dogs pass by here at all. Did they hurt someone? They didn't bite anyone did they?!" Kino easily mocked Kai with the remark and received a death glare from her. "I'm sorry, its just that my younger brother was killed by some dogs...so I have a constant fear of them."

"No, no! It's all right. We'll catch them don't you worry miss!" The soldiers continued down the alleyway, when finally they disappeared into the darkness Kino let out a sigh. She slid down the wall until she sat with her knees touching her face. The wolf shook in the horridly, icy cold night.

"Geez, you didn't have to go as far as saying you had a younger brother that was killed by dogs. It was already dramatic enough." Kai scratched the back of her head.

"Who said I was lying?" She looked over at Kai, her eyes as gentle as always. "I did have a little brother...and he was killed by wolves..." There was a pause between the two of them.

Kai blinked slightly. "I'd say I was sorry and all, but that's just not how I am. So...you know...um...how was he killed? You don't...have to say if you don't want to..." The older female sat down beside her. From her pocket she pulled out some form of meat, it wasn't large but Kai split it in half anyway. To Kino she gave the smaller piece, which she didn't mind. Food was food, no matter what kind or how big the piece.

"I'd rather not tonight. After all we just met and already you're getting me into trouble." She laughed, "I guess that's just like you, huh?"

Before Kai could put the meat in her mouth, she stopped. "I was always gettin' into some form of trouble when I was younger. Not like I meant to, I just sorta fell into it I guess. Blue...she'd always been there for me...but he took her away. That man with a face of steal and his family...they stole her from me." She took a bite out of the meat and chewed it thoughtfully. Her eyes burning with an inferno.

"Maybe...they didn't mean to...they didn't know she had a sister..." Kino took a bite of her meet and chewed thoughtfully as well. Though instead of anger in her eyes, there was a form of pacifism. "Maybe if they'd known that you were also there, they'd have taken you in as well." A smile crawled up her face.

"Yeah, maybe. But I can't shake this feeling that I'm close to her. I'm real close. Tomorrow we set out for the next city, got it?" Kino nodded slightly, then curled up in the cold and went to sleep.

"Hey, Kai?'

"Hmm?"

"What're you going to do if we find another wolf?"

"If they don't have a pack...take them with me..."

"Why? Why do you look for lonesome wolves?"

"Because...there are to many of them...don't you agree?"

Kino looked down at the ground, she felt something cold on her cheek. Her eyes blinked up as she saw snow starting to fall. "Yeah...I agree..."

_The snow...it reminds me of a blanket. A cold blanket that forms just for me in the winter time. I wish...I wish I was so much older than I am now so that I could have helped him back then. But...I couldn't...and mom always told me not to blame myself...after all...it wasn't my fault. I can't help but miss him though...and that night he died. That night those wolves killed him and my father...and took my mother and I away...the snow was a crimson color with their blood. An ugly color of red that...that's stained into my memory like their blood stained the white snow. That satin snow stained by the sins of those wolves...stained by the sins of my father and brother._

She pulled herself tighter into a ball. Sleeping in a dark alleyway wasn't exactly first class...but if felt better with someone else there. A smile creased onto her face. _It's a new moon tonight...its another gentle sky without the great big blue moon to light it up. I wonder...if that means...it'll be bad luck on our mission to find her. To find this girl named Blue._


	2. The Beasts Way

Chapter Two

Windy Days and Windy Ways

Kai woke first, her eyes slowly beginning to open to the sunlight. That fake sunlight that shone on their fur. She stood up and stretched slowly, yawning luxuriously. Her thin face looked over at the snoozing Kino, her eyes glaring as she threw a rock at the girl. Kino jumped up and looked around, her eyes slightly angered at the fact that she'd been awakened in such a rude manner.

However, regardless of this manner of becoming awake she also stood and stretched. She scratched her head then turned to Kai, "Where the hell did you get a rock?"

The white faced girl looked up, aware of the fact that she did not have to explain herself, but decided to anyway. "I just randomly keep them in my pockets to throw at people. Where the hell else would I get it?" She points to the ground that was obviously now covered in snow.

Kino blinked then grinned. "Okay boss, which way to the next city?"

She glared at the grey wolf, then sighed. "We go to the north. I can smell her coming from that direction." Her eyes looked down, Kino blinked.

"You really can't wait to see her can you? She must mean a lot to you..." The two began to walk in the direction of the exit to the city. Kai stuck her hands in her pockets, while Kino's were covered from the bitter cold by her long sleeves.

"Yeah...let's go. She's waiting for us out there..." the two took off, running like there would never be a tomorrow. As they stopped close by the exit they heard a click sound behind them. The cocking of a gun. The two turned to see a young boy standing with bright blue eyes. He growled at the two.

"You two...you're the ones that hurt my dog last night, ain't you!?" Beside him stood a bright cinnamon colored dog, his back covered with a bandage. The dog growled.

"No kid, we haven't hurt anyone. Now I suggest you go on. You can barely keep that gun straight, how do you expect to actually shoot us?" A gun shot rang out in the city, the bullet flew right past Kai's face, the wolf didn't even flinch. "I told you to go on, but you didn't listen..."

"K-Kai...let's just get going. Obviously this boy can't hurt us," she grabbed her friend's sleeve. "Let him go." Her pleads to her friend acquired no sympathy for the boy. Kai shook Kino's hand from her sleeve and approached the boy with a cruel look of pleasurable anger.

"Look kid, you're lucky that my friend's here, otherwise you'd both be dead. Next time someone tells you to go home...take their advice and go home." She pushed the boy back then jumped up the walls of the houses.

Kino bowed before she followed her companion. "Kai! Wait up Kai!" She ran up behind her friend who stood in the winds of the city.

"Why did you keep me from killing him?" Her voice sounded furious. "Why wouldn't you let me kill him? He tried to kill me and you wouldn't...you wouldn't..." she turned to Kino with eyes of fiery anger. "You...wouldn't let me kill him."

"But Kai...even you said that he had no chance at killing us. It just seemed senseless is all. Senseless killing isn't exactly the type of killing anyone should be done." She tossed a piece of meat she'd snagged from the boy to her friend. "Ration it. We're starting our journey on a new moon, which means it'll almost be another month until we get a full moon to feed off of..." Kai seemed almost distant now, she was obviously thinking hard.

"You smell it too, don't you?" The white wolf turned to the grey one, staring at her friends golden orbs. "You smell what's close by my sister's scent...right?"

"Yeah, the smell of lunar flowers. That smell...its almost intoxicating. It makes me want to run as fast as I can to find it, it makes me want to go wild." She grinned at her friend who was surprised by Kino's answer. "You too, huh?"

"Y-yeah...Kino...you're sure that you want to go with me?" Kai looked at the ground, almost with a hopeless look.

"Of course I do!" The albino turned her head back up, looking in wonderment at Kino. "I wouldn't have followed you this far if I didn't. To tell the truth, I've been looking for a way out of this city for a long time. You just happened to be the first to tell me to go with them." She turned with a large grin, looking at the opening in the glass dome. "There it is, my salvation and your sister...let's go Kai. No more looking back, okay?"

Kai nodded her head slowly. The albino ran forward first and jumped off the building. She soared through the air, then hit the out skirts of the city with a THUMP! Another gun shot rang out, she looked up to see Kino had followed her.

"Un!" Instead of her gentle landing she hit the ground and tumbled over. Her leg had been grazed by a bullet shot.

"Can you run?"

"Not as fast a before, but I can still run!" Kino got up a long side Kai and the two ran. Kai kept her speed slightly ahead of Kino's, but not to much in fear that the wolf would fall behind.

On the roof of another building stood a man in a trench coat. He pulled a flask from his pocket and emptied it into his mouth. A smirk appeared on his ruff face.


	3. First Cresent Moon: Kinonai

Chapter Three

The First Crescent Moon:

Kinonai

The two traveled along the fresh snow, both feeling the cold wind against their fur. Ahead of them there was only more snow, and behind them a life of troubles left behind. They would never look back again, just as promised.

The great pup of a wolf sat down at the edge of a cliff. The bright golden orbs full of glimmer and beautifully glittering in the day light. Her eyes pointed up at the clouds, the grey fur blowing in the winds. She felt a warm tongue lick the side of her face, looking up she saw her father. A great black wolf with huge gold eyes and white fangs that looked like pearls stood in front of her.

"Father..." she grinned at him.

"Kinonai, do you remember what I told you your name meant?" The two sat looking up at the horizon, nothing really being said between them. Kino looked over at him, a smile pressed on her face.

"I never understood why you gave me the name that meant "dispirited" but I won't complain." The young pup sat with her for legs in front of her and her bottom pressing the ground.

The old wolf stared at his daughter in approval of her words. She was wise beyond her years and would make a wonderful leader...she would also become the alpha female and practically control the pack. "I gave you that name because of the hardships you will face soon. Promise me something Kinonai, no matter what happens, you will always look ahead and never behind you. You will always remember that there is always something better ahead of you, and never behind you." The wolf grinned at his daughter, who grinned back.

"Okay father, I will always remember that there is always something better ahead of me rather than behind me."

The two wolves had stopped in a cave to rest for a while. There they found shelter from the harsh, blistering winds and warmth, very little, but more warmth than outside had provided them. Kai looked over at the grey wolf and sighed, the wolf seemed in intense thought. Though she didn't want to disturb her, she did wish to know what she was thinking. It was just to damn quiet.

"What're you thinking about?" Kai's voice shattered the thick silence and caused Kino to jump.

After recovering from her scare she gave a shuttered laugh. "Well, I was thinking about what I'd promised my dad before he died, about how I would never look back. Kai...do you still want to know what happened to my brother? After all, we've been on the road for a while...its only natural to learn more about each other...right?" Kino smiled up at her friend who only gave a solemn nod.

"Yeah, sure." The white albino's ears perked as her friend began to tell her about how her brother was killed.

"Along time ago my pack was really big, it was great. We never really fought and no one ever really cared that much. We would hunt and–" her voice began to fade into her memories.

The same young, grey wolf sat at the edge of the same cliff from her earlier memory. A grin was broad on her face, a smile no one but she could possibly place on her own face. The sun was setting, and in the morning there would be yet another day. Before day break there would be a hunt, and the adults would bring back food to them. That was always how it was, and that was how she wanted to keep it.

"Kinonai!" Her father's voice yelled for her. It seemed rushed and horribly worried. He ran from where the pack had sat down in the forest to where she sat now. Instead of sitting down beside her he picked her up by the back of her neck and carried her. The others followed suit. Something was horribly wrong.

_That smell! It's the smell of those other wolves!_ She looked over, seeing her younger brother being carried in her mother's mouth. His leg was ripped open, meat and fur just simply hanging off of the bone. It was the smell of blood that drove her insane with craze, just like the smell of those flowers. She shook herself free of her father's grasp, when she hit the ground she didn't tumble or fall, but landed distinctly upon all fours. Those gentle golden eyes were now flickering with despise and hatred. There were four larger wolves trailing behind them, three of the wolves continued running past her to find the others and obviously kill them, but one stopped. A huge brown wolf growled fiercely.

"Go on! Go on and join them little girl. You'll die an easier death that way," he spoke in a deluded tone of voice, as if he'd simply snapped. Around his brown face there was blood, he was the one that had hurt her little brother! He'd done it! Her eyes burned brighter with that hate, and she ran forward, he did the same. They flew at each other, both biting the other, but Kino's razor sharp teeth grasped his fur harder than he could grasp her's. He fell and blood stained her mouth. Blood also stained her fur from when he'd grasped her, that would make the long scar she would bare in the near future. This would be her first scar from her first fight.

She followed the scent of the others, but only to find that they all lied dead except for the females. Each of them had been rounded up and the males killed. It only took moments for the three wolves to over power the young pup. Just as they did she told them that their leader was dead, that she killed him. They backed off, their tails between their legs.

"And for a while I ruled over them, I was the queen of everything...but after mother died I decided to leave. Besides, I wasn't a very good leader. I was to young and everyone knew it, so I appointed a much older and wiser male wolf named Zair to be the leader. He easily took over and I said my good byes, cut my ties...and ended up in that city. Then I found you...or rather you found me. I loved playing leader, but for some reason on that first crescent moon I felt it was my time to go, that they would find a better place to live and Zair would lead them onto that place. He did tell me one other thing before I left, "Never quit your search for Rakuen...never stop searching for our Paradise." That was the last thing anyone said after I left."

She looked over at Kai who sat with her eyes closed, the thoughts of how her friend had ended up with her tinkled around loosely in her mind. Then finally she opened her razor sharp red eyes and replied, "Then when we find Blue...we search for Paradise."

Kino shook her head, her body also shaking hard with laughter. The long silver hair slid over her eyes as she looked over to Kai, "But Kai...we're already searching for Paradise, this entire trip was based on our desire for Paradise, our desire to find Rakuen." Kai blinked in confusion to this statement. "Look, the entire time we've been searching for Blue we've also been following this scent, this scent that takes us to the ends of the world and back."

The white wolf looked at her, blinking slightly still but realizing exactly what her friend had said, she was right. This entire search for Blue was not just based on her scent, but that scent that also belonged with Blue's. Kai got up and stretched, looking over to where her friend stood up.

"So, are you ready to go now?" Kai's voice was an inviting sound for Kinonai, who nodded in approval.

"Lead the way Kai."


	4. The Crows Black Call

Chapter Four

The Crow's Black Call

The two wolves entered the city, looking around for something to eat, or some place to sleep for the night. Again the place was as dead as the last dome they'd been in, the same dome where the two had first met.

A boy looked at them curiously, his eyes wide with an expression of awe. "You two..." they both looked up at him Kino's eyes curious and Kai's eyes blank. "You're wolves aren't you?" The two exchanged confused expressions then looked back at the guy.

"No, we're not wolves..." Kai responded with a cold voice.

"You can't lie to me...and what's more I won't hurt you...I like wolves..." on his shoulder sat a large crow that cawed, the night shivering with its call of horrid noise. "Come with me. I have a place for you to stay."

"I don't–"

Kai smiled and walked to where he stood, sniffing him over. He put his hand on her head and scratched behind her ears, she only whimpered in response.

"Well, if you think its okay, fine." Kino gave a huffy response.

The three walked in silence until they reached a spot to sit in an alleyway. Kai looked over to him, sparking a conversation at last, "So, why exactly do you like wolves?"

"The old man that took care of me was a wolf. This city is a sort of refuge for wolves, they sleep in this old dump, but wish. You'd never guess how many I see. Many of the people that come in here are wounded...but the wolves talk of a place called Rakuen and as soon as they set foot in this place you can blink and they'll be gone." He looked up to Kai, then spoke in a light tone, "There was a blue wolf that reminds me a lot of you...she left here two nights ago."

"A blue wolf?! Who was she traveling with?!"

He blinked in surprise to her questions, then laughed, "Calm down, she was traveling with a pack of guys and a lovely lady that smelled like flowers." The crow fluttered down into his lap where he petted it gently. "There was a little runt named Toboe, and a huge silver one named Tsume...let's see..." he paused for a moment, then snapped his fingers, "Oh and there was a brown one named Hige, and a big white one name Kiba. They all seemed to be protecting the flower lady." He smiled at the others.

"Wait...only wolves can smell lunar flowers..." Kino looked at him closely and found that he indeed was a wolf himself. He smiled innocently at the two.

"Well, you can never be to careful with your barriers and bonds, eh?" He stood up again, sticking out his hand, "My name is Luciean." He gave a large grin to the other wolves. Kinonai shook hands with him then blinked slightly. "What?"

"I don't understand, if we're wolves, then why did you hide yourself? It's not like we could turn you in...is it?" She looked at Kai for recognition, unfortunately she didn't have a clue either.

"Actually, you could. Lately there have been rumors of a wolf with a collar that works under the Noble Lady Jagara. Some of the wolves here thought it might have been the one that was traveling with Blue, Hige," sadly he shook his head then continued, "no one knows though, and he doesn't remember anything about his past...so we didn't do anything."

That was the second time the name Hige rang in Kino's mind. For some reason that name made shivers crawl up and down her back, like she'd met him before. "This Hige...you met him, right?"

"Yeah, really nice wolf, kinda fat though. I liked him enough. Though I did feel really weird around him, especially after I heard that rumor. You can never be to careful." Luciean looked up at Kino who was concentrating hard on the ground.

"Leave her alone. She needs some time to think to herself," Kai was speaking to Luciean without even taking a glance at Kino, "at any rate, I'm starving. Got any food?"

"No, I have to salvage what I can from either the trash or what I can steal from the humans without their noticing."

"Then I say we go hunting for something to steal. We'll be back Kino. Be careful while we're gone." Kino merely nodded in response to her friend's concern.

As the two walked along there was little, if any conversation between them. Kai didn't seem to be in the mood to talk, but Luciean felt the obligation to at least try.

"So, I caught Kino's name, but I never caught your's." He gave a smile to her as she looked over curiously at him.

"It's Kai...any other questions?"

The other wolf just laughed at the comment as though it was a joke. "Well, I was going to ask about your past, that is, if you don't mind telling me..."

"I do..." was her only response; the conversation shut with that last line. Kai lifted her nose into the air and sniffed, smelling that sweet smell of fresh meat. She licked her lips and began to walk in a different direction.

"You smell it too? Smells like beef." Luciean turned to his new friend and smiled happily, they'd found meat.

"Yeah, smells good." At first she was walking, and then she began to run. Her eyes wide and happily grinning at the thought of food. Suddenly she stopped, her eyes wide and the glee gone from them. There stood the man that had shot at Kino, the man in the trench coat. The same man that had stolen her sister from her, stolen Blue away.

As Quint turned his eyes filled with the sight of the two. A wolf and a boy...no two wolves stood in front of him. It was like the first time he'd seen that pup, he was drunk from the over use of Vodka. Drunk from losing his dearest Blue and drunk from the horrors that the wolves had brought upon him. For a moment he just stood there and stared at the two, as if they were ghosts from the past. Then, from his trench coat he drew his shotgun, growling.

"DIE YOU PATHETIC WASTE OF SCUM! DIE YOU BEASTS!" He yelled, a single shot could be heard throughout the city.

To the side Kai had carefully moved, then she ran down the street followed by her friend, who now appeared in his wolf form as well.

Luciean was a sleek and slender pure black wolf. His head was huge, following a massive body of muscle and fur. Though his body large he trailed behind Kai like he was as small as she. On his shoulder sat the crow that never spoke an objection to the pair's flee.

As they ran Kai swore she heard another shot had rang out behind them, and she wasn't sure if it had hit Luciean, so she turned and saw the other wolf fly by her. As soon as he passed her, he turned to see what she'd stopped for. There he saw her, fur raised and tail high in the air, but to the man she was just a girl.

"You! You're the man that stole my sister from me! You're the man that stole her!" She accused Quint. He stopped for a moment and stared at her, blinking ever so slightly. He had no idea what she was talking about, but after a moment he realized that she was a wolf and pulled his shotgun up, pointing it directly at her.

"Look wolf, I have no clue what you're talkin' about. But I suggest you run, or you're gonna die tonight." He shot at her yet again, missing because of bad aim. Kai wasted no time and ran forward, tackling him to the ground.

"You stole Blue! You took her and made her part of your family, leaving me in the cold with no hope of survival! You stole my sister!" She growled, then reached down, stretching her jaws. In the exctasy of the moment she was going to kill him for taking away Blue, kill him for causing her misery. Once again, however, Kino stopped her.

From the shadows came the tapping of claws, it happened in a matter of seconds. The ash-colored wolf jumped and hit the albino to the ground, then stood above her. A grueling growl came out from under her breath telling Kai to stop. Every time the wolf below her struggled she put more pressure on her stomach, making the albino howl in pain.

Luciean watched, but did nothing to interrupt. His policy was that if it was between a pack and it wasn't his pack, it stayed that way without his ever getting involved. The wolves continued their struggle as Quint became able to stand. For a moment Quint as well stared, then lifted up the heavy shotgun. The sleek black wolf took one look and placed quick action. He tackled Quint to the ground, knocking the old man out.

"Look you two, quit fighting and lets get out of here now! Before this guy wakes up and sees you two like that!" The two stood, Kai hovering on the question of killing him still...but Kino had made it quite clear that she disagreed. So she took up pace, following behind.

The three stopped outside of the city gates, looking up Kino saw a full moon out. "We can rest out here–" before she could finish Kai had knocked her to the ground.

"YOU IDIOT! THIS IS THE SECOND TIME YOU STOPPED ME FROM DOING THAT! WHY?! WHY DID YOU STOP ME!?" For a moment there was a lingering silence, then finally Kino spoke why she'd done what she'd done.

"Because, killing him...killing him would have stained you more than you should be stained. Because, you don't deserve that and..." she stopped, not finishing the statement.

There was no reason to, as Kai backed off of her. She spread out on the ground and inhaled the extremely cold air a few times. Then she turned her head to Kino and responded, "If you ever try to stop me again...I'm not responsible for the outcome, got it?"

A shuddering laugh raised from Kino's voice, startling both Kai and Luciean. "If that's so...then I'll willingly die to keep you from killing a human. They're not worth it...after all they kill their own kind..."

"But didn't you?" Kai gave a snappy response and Kino yet again laughed.

"Yes, but that was for the pride of my pack, for the pride of my father and brother. I didn't kill that wolf just because he'd stolen my brother...I killed him because he'd stolen my brother's life...he'd stolen his existence." With a smile she turned to Luciean.

"I meant to ask you before, what are you doing out here...in a dump like this?"

The black wolf's head rose up, his ears perked to the question. The it was lowered as he studied to full moon, hoping to find some form of a response from it. "I came here because..." he began but couldn't find the words, "I came here because I wanted to find out what it was like to finally die. Because everyone I ever knew died when I was little. I'd lost everything and yet gained something..." the black crows call did not ring out any longer.

"That crow...what happened to it?" Kino looked at the other's, Kai looked up to Luciean for an answer.

"He's free now. I let him free after we'd met with that old man. He wanted to stay with me...but I told him to go." There was a silence between the group, and the last words uttered were from Luciean, "I wonder what it's like to be free after following someone around for that long..."


	5. The Second Cresent Moon: Harukai

Chapter Five

The Second Crescent Moon

Aziema

The same albino wolf traveled alone in the cold snow of the apocalypse. Death had taken so many of her comrades and she was now alone. Blue had deserted her for that damned man when she was young, her own sister. In the snow she sat and howled to the strong east wind, hoping her voice would be heard by someone. Red eyes were closed and she collapsed in the terrible cold, shivering.

From death, there came pain. That pain of being reborn unto the earth yet again. She'd sit and shiver in her sleep, yip, howl, bark, and cry. No matter what she did, she couldn't run from this pain. It wasn't so physical, but mental. It was the crying of the lone wolf, the one that ran with no friends. Then came the rebirth of her back onto the world, the pain faded and she opened her eyes. There sat a man poking at a fire. He was tall and thin at the same time. Nearly bald, he wore a thick jacket to keep his scalp from freezing.

When he looked over he saw the wolf trying to move, "So you're finally alive. I knew you wouldn't give up that easily. You're strong, but had I not found you, you would have surely died. Where's your pack? What happened to them?" Since he wasn't going to get a straight answer for the time being, he patted her on the head. She pushed her nose under his hand, wanting, longing to be social for a few more moments.

It was like that for days, he'd feed her and she would eat and sleep. She didn't have enough strength to even thank him, and it was like he did all of it knowing he was thanked. He didn't mind tending to the wounds that she'd received from some unknown fight. There was never a murmur of unkindness that fell from his lips, all of his words were kind and loving. Tender with a hint of reality is what this man had appeared to be. She loved him for the time.

When she got the strength up to talk, it came a day when he was not around. He'd gone out to hunt for food. After returning, instead of finding his good friend the white albino wolf, he found the girl with red eyes and velvet hair. She'd startled him for a moment, but when she spoke the words soothed and calmed him.

"Don't be worried old man, its just me. I wanted to say thanks for all of the caring you did for me. Why'd you do it for a wolf?"

He laughed at her question, not in a cruel mean way, but a way that made the girl smile as well. "Well, if you must know, it was because my daughter died out on the snow. When I saw you, I figured she'd have wanted me to take you home and keep you warm. The lone wolf can't always run alone."

"I have to leave soon, I...don't want to go, but you understand."

His smile stayed on his face, he'd already known. "Wolves don't stay in one place for long, always running from that unknown danger that haunts you. Don't worry, you're more than welcome to leave when you like, just stay until I have to go...please?"

"I will, my name is..." she didn't want to tell him her real name.

"Harukai, that was the name of my daughter. Will you take it and make it a long lasting name...she couldn't. I believe that whatever you may be doing is far better than what she was. Take that name..." She nodded.

The next morning that man never woke. It took her three days to dig a deep enough grave for him, but she honored his wishes and took his daughter's name. Adopting the name so that she could make him proud. After burying him she set his house on fire and watched it burn to the ground, all of his possessions would go with him to the next world, where they belong.

"Wow, generally its me that sleeps in. You okay Kai?" Kino looked at her, Luciean blinked in curiosity as he woke, stretching as well. Kino, for once, had been the first to wake. Though after they'd stopped, she'd also been the first to fall asleep. "Hmm, looks like she's still out cold. Good morning Luciean."

The black wolf stretched his legs and back giving a great yawn. "Think she's dreaming?" Luciean asked with a laugh, Kino turned with the same smile on her face. It was a running joke between the two that Kai never really dreamt, though they knew she did.

"How can she not be? She's twitching and growling." When she turned back from looking at Luciean there sat Kai with an evil glare on her face. Kino jumped slightly then calmed herself.

"You were watching me sleep?"

"Y-yeah...I didn't know it was against the rules. Look, get over it I brought a rabbit for you two to munch on. Go ahead and dig in." The two willingly took the rabbit and ate it. Kino grinned and sat down, she began to hum a song.

On about the third bite Kai looked up, putting the rabbit down and stopping Luciean at the same time, "Don't you want any...after all...its your kill." Luciean nodded in agreement.

"Nope, I don't eat very often...and when I do eat, I eat a lot." She curled up in a ball and awaited the others to finish. She'd been out nearly all morning hunting, and now she just wanted to sleep. "Oh, by the way," she called up causing Kai to stop eating again, "where are we going now? I can't smell the flowers..."

"We're going to a city...a city with no smell." Kai looked over at Kino who seemed to be tossing the idea of a city with no smell in her head.

A voice floated to them, it called on the icy snow like a lullaby. "You're kidding right? You're going to Jagara's keep?" The three wolves turned to see a man standing there. His eyes grinned at Kai who only stared in awe. The other two looked at each other quizzically, confused as to what this man may have meant to their leader.

"Kai...who is this?"

"Yo-Yo-Yoji..."

"Humph, glad you still remember me Aziema. It's been a while hasn't it? I thought I'd never find you...you were after all the last of our pack. I'd heard that you'd been staying with an old man about 3 years back, but when I went to check it out there was a freshly dug grave and the house was burnt down." He looked at her, seeing tears spot her eyes. "What's wrong...I've never seen the great Aziema cry..." he looked at her closely to make sure he was right.

"Aziema?" The Kino and Luciean both asked at the same time.

"F-forget it, it's a long story and not important. Aziema is my original name." She kept her head down, Yoji patted it with one hand.

The brown wolf gave a calm smile, "Because, Seir's alive as well. He's the one that helped to kill off both our pack and your pack." This brought shocking news to Kai's ears.

"S-Seir!?"

"Why the hell do you keep stuttering, you cold?" Kino laughed at Kai, causing that serious moment to fade. As soon as she ended her laugh she got a quick punch to the middle of her forehead.

Yoji rolled his eyes and continued, "Yes, and if I'm not mistaken, he's still searching for you. That human that you'd thought you'd bitten before running off was actually him. That also reminds me, have you found Blue yet?"

"No...that's why we're going to Jagara's keep. To find..." she looked up. She hadn't noticed it, but five wolves were running across the horizon. Each matching the description Luciean had given her earlier, and in the middle was a beautiful woman. "BLUE!" Kai yelled out unto the horizon. The wolf stopped, turned with a wide eyes to see her younger sister standing there.

For a moment the two wolves stood there, entranced by the sight of each other. Another wolf stopped close to Blue and tugged at her, telling her to come on, until finally all the wolves had stopped to stare out at the other pack of wolves that faced them.

"Blue! Blue where are you Blue!?" The young Aziema stood on the open field of grass to see Blue surrounded by humans. Aziema only stood there watching as Blue ran off with the old man and his family, completely forgetting about her. It was then that Aziema as well turned her back on her half sister, wishing to forget her as well. Blue had finally found a life that she enjoyed, the wolves had always teased her for being a half-breed. "Maybe now...you can find your happiness." From there she ran...regretting that she never ran to Blue.

Kai took off, running like the wind to meet her sister. "BLUE!" Blue ran as well, rejoicing in the sight of that young wolf. Ever since she'd left, she'd regretted leaving Aziema behind.

"AZIEMA! Aziema!" Blue repeated as she ran to meet her younger sister. As the two met Kai threw her arms around the woman and the woman threw her arms around Kai. "Aziema, Aziema I've been so...so sad! I've missed you so much my little sis...where...what...you've grown so much since back then...Aziema."

Kai's pack caught up with her, as did the wolves that Blue had been traveling with. "Wait, little sister, what do you mean?" The fat brown wolf that was apparently Hige asked.

Blue wiped away a few tears. "I thought that my little sis had died...Hige, Kiba, Tsume, Toboe, Cheza...this is Aziema." For a moment Kai just clung to Blue, not wanting to let go. Until finally that dead silence was answered by Hige's own voice.

"Hey look! Luciean! Its been a while. What're you doing out here?"

"Kai and Kino found me in the city...an old man tried to shoot us all down...so I began traveling with these two. This is Yoji, one of Kai's old friends."

"Kai? What happened to Aziema?" Blue looked down at her sister in curiosity.

"...forget it..." the silence came yet again. What would the other's think of her if they knew that she'd taken on a name given to her by a human? _They'll probably laugh at me in my face and call me a pet..._

"Well, I guess you're all coming with us then?" Kiba looked at Cheza who gave a smile and nodded.

Kino walked to Cheza, taking in her scent with a large grin, "Wow miss, you sure do smell good." Cheza bent down and petted her on the head, smiling. "We've been looking for you."

"I have been looking for you as well, Kinonai. This one was frightened that we may never have gotten the chance to meet. Do you know the name of this one?" The pink haired, red eyed girl asked Kinonai.

"I do...your name is Cheza. You know, close up you look really pretty."

"K-Kinonai?" Hige looked at her closely, amazed at the sight that he saw. "You're that wolf...that wolf that had slain my leader. I...I can't believe you're still alive."

For a moment she blinked, amazed that he knew who she was. "I don't remember you from that pack...I remember the elder telling me of a Hige...but you were never there."

"Damn right I was never there!" He growled fiercely. It was the first time he'd been capable of remembering anything, and his first memory was of the death of his leader. "After you...killed him...I ran off to find another pack...there was no way I was going to be pushed around by a damn pup!" He ran forward, his jaws wide. His lips wrapped around Kino's throat growling with bitter rage, anger, and sadness.

"I know...what I did was wrong. To slay one of my own," tears formed in her eyes, "but...you have to look at where I was coming from. He killed my little brother and my father. I'm sorry that I caused you such sorrow." The others watched, knowing better than to get involved in something like this. Kai wanted to help, but knew that if she got involved Kino would hate her, this was a matter of pride.

"Hige–!" unfortunately Toboe didn't know better, but Tsume stopped him.

"Don't, this is something that Hige needs to sort through. You can't help him, none of us can." Tsume held his hand out in front of Toboe, it looked like a barrier that he'd never be able to get through.

"If spilling my blood will make your memories better...and make you feel better then do so. I won't fight back..." Kino felt his teeth tighten, then release.

"Why...why did you kill him...he...was our leader." Hige fell to the ground sobbing. Kino ran to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Because, just as it was now it was then...he'd broken his pride. I'm sorry...I didn't mean to hurt you or anyone else of that pack...but he was weak." She released her grasp on him and that night the group rested there. It was the second crescent moon, the coming of a new moon.


End file.
